Night Child

by Jes Battis

That's a dead vampire, I thought. My boss dragged me out of bed at two in the morning to see a dead vampire? I might be an Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, but a dead... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441016022
• ISBN13: 9780441016020
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Don't waste your time or money

This is a fail. So boring . the author has a very bad habit of refering and comparing the people and the situations they find themselves in to bands you have never heard of, songs you have never heard of, movies, books, poets, and lord knows what else you have never heard of. It makes for a very uninteresting read, and there are contradictions on every page. Half way into the book you know it's not going to get any better, you do not care about the characters, and you have already figured out who "the bad guy" is and what a lame villain! Treat yourself to Jennifer rardin , faith hunter, or the great and powerful rob Thurman.

Solid Urban Fantasy

This was a good read. At times it did get a bit repetitive and the main character did make some silly decisions but nothing that would've stopped me from finishing the book. It will be interesting to see the next chapter in Tess' career and her relationship w/ Lucian. I recommend this book.

Solid First Outing

Night Child is a solid first outing from author Jes Battis. The action sequences are particularly compelling, and while there is occasional info-dumping, it tends to work well within the context - think CSI, and how every time a new technique is used we get a brief explanation. The protagonist, Tess Corday, is a believably conflicted twenty-four year old with the usual concerns and fears of a young adult, with the odd admixture of self-doubt and cockiness we've all experienced under the skin. Battis is at his best when he segues into dream and flashback scenes, where Tess's internal monologue picks up steam and approaches stream-of-thought-like intensity and randomness. Some small quibbles - A couple of minor continuity issues (an ambiguous turn of phrase in one case, another where a secondary character suddenly knows how a murder has been committed without actually being told), but nothing show-stopping. Additionally, a few typos here and there - which is to be expected in a first printing, but still jar a little. That said, again, nothing show-stopping. The story itself falls into the relatively new and energetic dark urban fantasy/vampire noir set, and Night Child is definitely a good fit. The characters are believable and sympathetic, the action is well-paced, the plotting allows the reader to catch breath on occasion, and the finale is both foreshadowed and yet not obvious. Tess, as an OSI-1 working on mystical crime scenes, is a kind of Scully meets Grissom with a bit of kick-butt Buffy thrown in for good measure. Her requisite sidekick is played by the amiable and surprisingly capable Derrick, and a cast of vamps, necros, mages and demons rounds things out quite nicely. The backstory evolves from the discovery of a dead vampire in an alleyway in downtown Vancouver - but there's no stake, no garlic, no silver to be seen. How this vamp died and why lead Tess and Derrick on a merry chase throughout Vancouver and nearby environs, battling their way through supernatural foes and demonic paperwork, trying not only to solve the case, but perhaps to fight some internal demons of their own. Battis definitely shows us the gun in the first act, and yes, it is fired by the third. I finished the book at a run and was left wanting for more - here's hoping that Battis can get book two in the OSI series out soon.

Excellent urban fantasy

She is an Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver Mystical Crime Lab which is part of the Central Occult Regulation Enterprise. They are mages who try to prevent demons from harming humans. Currently the two sides have a working truce that is about to be tested. In the middle of the night Tess Corday and her partner Derek are called to the crime scene featuring a murdered vampire. The telepath at the crime scene picks up images of the vampire's last moments filled with fire and a teenage girl. In the vampire's pocket is a picture of himself and his sire as well as an address. Tess and Derek visit the home of Cassandra and her niece Mia. They are shocked to realize the aunt is a demon and the niece is a mage whose powers remain surprisingly dormant. Mia confides that the vampire was in her guardian's home. A vampire attacks the two investigators, but they escape unharmed. They get into further trouble when they are warned then ordered by their superiors to stay away from Mia. Tess feels a strong affinity for Mia so she risks her life and her job to keep the focus of seemingly everyone's interest safe. NIGHT CHILD will appeal to a wider audience then just the obvious Dresden urban fantasy crowd. The world building is fabulous as the audience will feel like Jes Battis' humans are caught in the middle of a cold war that could go hot in a nanosecond between mages and demons. Adding to the depth of the characterizations is both sides have good and bad members with their ethics being extremely complex. Fans will appreciate this tour of the Battis universe where the supernatural, the natural, and the hybrid live together in a not so peaceful co-existence. Harriet Klausner